Milton MA firefighter struck by drunk driver, in critical condition

Milton firefighter struck by a truck while aiding victims in a car accident

MILTON, Mass. -- A firefighter trying to help an accident victim becomes a victim when he's struck in the street.

He is now fighting for his life in the hospital.

Firefighter Antonio Pickens, 44, went to assist one of the drivers involved in a two car accident across from the Milton Fire Engine Company 4 Saturday night.

A black Buick LeSabre heading north towards Boston drove by and struck Pickens in front of numerous firefighters. Once hit, Pickens went over the vehicle and landed in the center lane of Blue Hill Avenue. He suffered massive trauma to his body and head.

On Sunday, Milton Police officers arrested CW Tolbert, 46, of Stoughton, and charged him with third offense operating under the influence, operating under the influence of liquor and causing serious bodily injury, and negligent operation of a motor vehicle.

He is being held on $5,000 cash bail and will be arraigned Monday, July 2 at the Quincy District Court.

The union local president was in tears at the press conference, tough stuff to watch. I think the news reports mentioned a wife and kids. God bless FF Pickens and his family.

I have personally experienced being struck by a driver under the influence of drugs while working at an accident scene, I know how hard it is to get someone convicted to a long term sentences. The guy who hit me only got a sentence of 4.5 to 9 years.

I keep asking my representatives to push for resolution that makes it harder for these people from getting light sentences.

I keep asking my representatives to push for resolution that makes it harder for these people from getting light sentences.

Sadly it won't happen. The legislatures are full of ambulance chasing, dirtbag attorneys who are bribed and in the pocket of the lawyer lobbying groups.

Massachusetts is NOTORIOUSLY LENIENT at punishing DWI offenders. In the past few weeks I can recount 3 stories of DWI operators with at least 5 prior DWI offenses. This is pathetic.

Sadly Jakes, Paramedics, and the public are all endangered and run a high chance of death so that these people can run free after killing or seriously injuring someone. What is truly sad is that you get less time if you hit someone with a car and kill them than if you shoot them. Both are just as premeditated, only a car endangers more people.

Like I said. The state is notoriously lenient. I am disgusted as well.

Not playing devils advocate here but, rovoke his license, guess what, the SOB will drive anyway this time without insurance. I dont know what the perfect solution is... perhaps incarcerate him for the duration of his revocation. I guess I'm just jaded, I've seen it multiple times, person with a suspended or revoked license gets in yet another DWI accident and then we show up and see numbnuts get a ticket for driving without a license. WTF.

Not playing devils advocate here but, rovoke his license, guess what, the SOB will drive anyway this time without insurance. I dont know what the perfect solution is... perhaps incarcerate him for the duration of his revocation. I guess I'm just jaded, I've seen it multiple times, person with a suspended or revoked license gets in yet another DWI accident and then we show up and see numbnuts get a ticket for driving without a license. WTF.

Jail. Let him rot. Then let him rot some more. And anyone who allows the guy to drive their car loses it.

Then again Virginia's new idea of fines of $3,000 plus insurance premium increases, plus court costs, plus...........Make them pay. Garnish wages if necessary.

The RMV and the courts are investigating an astonishing paperwork foul-up in 2004 that allowed a repeat drunken driver who nearly killed a firefighter last weekend to keep his license, even though it should have been yanked.

The driver, C.W. Tolbert, 46, of Stoughton was allegedly drunk Saturday night when he slammed into a Milton firefighter who was walking to an accident scene next to the fire station. The firefighter, Antonio “Tony” Pickens, a married father of two, is fighting for his life at a Boston hospital.

It’s a tragedy that might have been avoided with better record-keeping and less red tape, said Registrar of Motor Vehicles Anne Collins, adding that the RMV doesn’t know how widespread the problem is.

“We need to look at ways to improve the system,” Collins said. “Even if there’s only one that slipped through the cracks, the consequences are so terrible.”

South Boston District Court, where Tolbert was convicted of his second OUI in 2004, never mailed the paperwork to the RMV, Collins said. Boston Municipal Court is also probing why the paperwork wasn’t sent in 2004, according to courts spokeswoman Charlotte Whiting.

Collins said had they received that notice, they would have suspended Tolbert’s license for two years. Had Tolbert reapplied for his license in August 2006, the newly passed Melanie’s Law would have forced him to install a device in his car that wouldn’t allow it to start if he’d been drinking, she said.

Melanie’s Law requires ignition interlock devices for repeat drunken drivers whose licenses were reinstated as of January 2006. Of 1,921 drivers with the devices, which prevent a car from starting even if a driver has a tiny amount of alcohol in his system, just 66 have “failed out” due to a subsequent violation, the RMV said.

On Monday, when the RMV was finally notified of Tolbert’s 2004 OUI, his license was suspended for two years. On top of that, his license was suspended for another five years because he refused a breath test the night of his arrest, another Melanie’s Law mandate. The law was enacted in memory of Melanie Powell, a 13-year-old Marshfield girl who died in 2003 after being struck by a repeat drunken driver as she walked home.

Meanwhile, Pickens, a 12-year veteran of the Milton fire department, is unconscious and possibly suffered brain damage after the crash. His fellow firefighters may organize a prayer service, blood drive or some other way to help him and his family out, said Lt. Jack Grant, president of the Milton firefighter’s union.